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Monday, October 19, 2009

A Glittery Collection of ATC's by Violette Clark

Artist trading cards (ATC's) are wonderful miniature pieces of art which you trade (for free – you're not supposed to sell them) with your friends. The only rule in creating ATC's is that they are supposed to be 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. You can create them using a multitude of media and ephemera. The possibilities are truly as boundless as your imagination. You might love your ATC's so much that you may want to attach them to a blank greeting card to give to a friend. Consider mounting your favorite card in a shadow box or using one as a gift tag.

Create a page for your backgrounds by scrape painting 2 or 3 colors onto a piece of cardstock with a discarded credit card. You can stencil on a design as well (I used sequin waste to stencil some pink on). Dye a piece of paper towel by scrunching it in a ball and dipping it into 2 small containers of a paint/water mixture. Make sure you cover the entire piece with dye. Set aside to dry. Take 3 pieces of Fantasy Film (I used Blue Nile) approximately 4 x 4 inches and iron them between two pieces of parchment paper (I used cardstock) for 3 to 10 seconds. If you would like the piece to vary in color snip a few tiny pieces of another color Fantasy Film (I used Satin) and sprinkle it over your 3 pieces of fantasy film before ironing. Set fused piece aside. Now gather a small amount of Fantasy Fiber (I used Edge of Night) and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Set Teflon coated iron to medium or polyester setting. Again iron for approximately 3 to 10 seconds. You'll be using this fused piece in a couple of your ATC's.

ATC's #1 and #5

ATC #1 – Cut a 2 1/2” x 3 1/2” piece of paper from your painted background. Cut and tear a piece of your fused Fantasy Fiber and adhere to the background with Designer Dries Clear adhesive. Cut a heart from some Fantasy Film. Cut two wings from your painted backgrounds or decorative paper. Apply a bead of glue to the wings and sprinkle #263 Bright Gold Ultrafine Opaque Glitter on top. Glue the wings to the back of the heart and adhere over the Fantasy Fiber. Add computer text to the ATC.

ATC #2 – Tear book text into small pieces and adhere to an ATC size piece of cardstock with Designer Dries Clear adhesive. Paint over the background with watered down brown acrylic paints to age the card. Edge with orange water soluble oil pastels and smudge with your finger. Print out a small black and white photo (you can alter it in photoshop by changing the picture to gray scale) and cut out. Glue it to the background, edge with black watercolor pencil crayon which you have wet with a brush. Print out the computer generated text and glue to your ATC. Add dots of glue with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and a bead of glue around the text – sprinkle with Bright Gold Glitter and tap off excess.

ATC #2

ATC #3 – Cut your dyed paper towel to size and adhere it to a piece of cardstock cut to the ATC size. Apply a layer of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive on top as well and sprinkle on Iris Transparent Microfine Glitter. Clip a magazine image or photo of your choice and glue down. Sand it a bit with sandpaper to distress it. Glue a piece of Fused Fantasy Fiber on the bottom, cut a circular piece for adorning the woman's head – glue down. Cut three leaves from your painted backgrounds and adhere. Glue a button on top.

ATC #4 – Shrink one of your journal pages or pieces of art to slightly smaller than an ATC. Paint the border of your blank ATC purple and adhere the miniature art to it. Dot the edges of the card with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and sprinkle on Bright Gold Ultrafine Glitter.

ATC's #3 and #4

ATC #5 – Cut a piece of your painted background to ATC size. Cut out a magazine image and distress it with sandpaper. Glue the image down. Glue down some computer generated text. Lay a piece of Sticky Strips down at the top of the card – remove pink protective strip and sprinkle on Bright Gold Ultrafine Glitter. Tap off the excess.

ATC's #6 and #7

ATC #6 – Cut a piece of decorative paper ATC size. Print out a photo of your pet. Clip a bow tie shape from your fused Blue Nile Fantasy Film - adhere it to the image. Dab a bit of glue to the center of the bow tie and sprinkle on Icicle Transparent Microfine Glitter. Glue the pet down onto your background. Adhere the text. Dab dots of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive on the background and sprinkle on No Moon Transparent Microfine Glitter. Tap off the excess. Outline text with black watercolor pencil crayon.

ATC #7 – Black and white ATC. This one is simple! You just draw or doodle a black and white design with a micron pen onto a blank piece of cardstock. Brush glue onto the mouth or whatever you decide should be the focal point. Sprinkle on some Iris Transparent Microfine Glitter and tap off the excess.

Put your ATC's in a binder with little plastic sleeves like they use for Sports trading cards. You can organize ATC trading events in your area or go online and swap them with your cyber friends!

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